Various Fire Protection Options Explored by Rochester WI Town Officials

Aug. 23—ROCHESTER — Another Racine County community is considering significant changes in fire protection services, including taking over a private fire and ambulance company.

The Village of Rochester is reviewing its relationship with the Rochester Volunteer Fire Company, which is paid more than $250,000 a year to serve the village's estimated 3,800 residents.

Among the options under consideration is making the fire company a village department, just as the Town of Norway is doing with the private Wind Lake Volunteer Fire Company.

Other possibilities include negotiating changes in the contract with Rochester Volunteer Fire Company, or joining a county-led movement to consolidate with neighboring fire departments.

The issue was spelled out in a report last week to the Rochester Village Board, whose members requested more information from village staff to fully examine the situation.

Village Administrator Betty Novy said Rochester, like other communities, faces a growing demand for fire and ambulance service at a time when state tax caps limit funding and when volunteer firefighters are increasingly difficult to find.

"It's not just a Rochester problem," Novy said. "It's a problem — period — for most municipalities."

The Village of Waterford is wrestling with a budget crunch in its fire department, while the neighboring villages of Union Grove and Yorkville are seeking options for building a new firehouse to serve both communities.

Norway is preparing to take over the Wind Lake fire company by acquiring its assets and making its firefighters and paramedics employees in a new town-operated fire department.

Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave, meanwhile, has brought together leaders from several municipalities to discuss streamlining fire and ambulance service through regional consolidation.

Rochester Volunteer Fire Company Chief Jack Biermann said he supports Rochester village officials wanting to consider whether better options exist for serving their community.

Biermann said he, too, is watching to see whether the county-led group comes up with a consolidation strategy.

"You've never going to move forward," Biermann said, "if you don't look at the options that are out there."

Rochester taxpayers this year paid $269,129 for the fire company's operations, plus another $168,287 for improvements to the fire station. Calls for ambulance service have nearly tripled in the past 12 years, from 183 calls to 482.

The village's budget this year is $1.4 million.

The report last week to the Village Board states that some people get confused when they learn that the fire company is a private organization and that village officials have no authority over hiring or operations.

Novy wrote in the report that officials should consider whether organizational changes might provide more "consistency and stability" to the fire department.

Novy said she has not decided yet whether to recommend any specific option to the Village Board.

"It's too soon to do that," she said. "We've got to flesh out some of the details."

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